City Lakes Real Estate Blog

School

Determining the Discount (Premium??) for Homes Located Across From a School

Key Variables: Type of School, Buyer Characteristics Homes on busy streets typically fetch a discount. Is there an equivalent discount for homes located across from a school? (which, in a way, is really just a subset of “busy street” — call it, an “intermittently busy street”). I’ve never seen formal data on this, but I’d guess...
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Why the Neighbor’s House Usually Isn’t a Comp (“Comparable Sold Property”)

Comparing Honey Crisps to Braeburns One of the more quizzical looks Realtors get is when they (try to) explain to a prospective home Seller that their neighbor’s house isn’t a “Comp” (Comparable Sold Property). In plain English: it isn’t relevant ” at least directly ” for pricing their home. For the uninitiated, a Comp is...
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Alcove

Real Estate Marketing 101: “Alcove” vs. “Studio” Apartment

Is an “alcove apartment” easier to rent than a “studio?” Apparently, at least one Twin Cities developer seems to think so. So far, the term only seems to be a feature of the rental market: out of almost 1,000 condo’s currently for sale on the local (NorthStar) MLS, only five use the term — and...
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Tiki

Real Estate Marketing 101: When to Confess a Home’s Warts & Blemishes — & When NOT To

Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder Buyer When should a listing agent (representing the Seller) explicitly acknowledge in their marketing that a home “needs cosmetic updates” (or the equivalent)? Less often than you might guess. Here are my three reasons why: One. The pictures tell the story. For years, real estate websites have allowed an unlimited...
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2733 Huntington

Coming Soon! 2733 Huntington Ave. South in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill Neighorhood

Don’t miss your chance to be just the fourth owner of this super-spacious, 5 BR/4 Bath Colonial in St. Louis Park’s high demand Fern Hill neighborhood. Just two blocks from Minneapolis’ Cedar Lake, this home is also convenient to Uptown, Downtown, and the Chain of Lakes (Isles, Bde Maka Ska, Harriet, etc.). The sprawling .25...
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Lien Waiver

Forgot Lien Waivers? Why (Most) Home Sellers Don’t Need to . . . um, Sweat It

Savvy Buyers making an offer on a newly remodeled home want to make sure they’re not inheriting a liability from their Seller. Specifically, they’ll want evidence that the Seller has paid all their contractors in full. The evidence? A legal release — called a “lien waiver” — that the contractors execute once they’ve been paid....
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Just Listed! 1907 Fremont Ave. South in Minneapolis’ Lowry Hill Neighborhood

This fabulous Lowry Hill Twinhome will not disappoint. Enter into a magnificent kitchen with center island work and eating space plus room for a dining table next to the bayed window, over looking your neighborhood of beautiful homes. This main floor offers sun filled views from the front though the beautiful living room with a...
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Mirror

Taking Would-Be Sellers on a Tour of Competing Homes? Bad Idea

When Subjectivity Isn’t Just Superficial If the Comp’s aren’t convincing enough, Realtor “Jane Doe” will take Sellers on tours of comparable properties. “They can see this other house is in much better condition, and it’s priced $20,000 less than theirs. It’s eye-opening.” –Spokane agent, sharing her strategy for working with unrealistic Sellers in “Setting Them Straight”; Realtor Magazine. ...
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Must See

Avoiding Real Estate Clichés Like the Plague (see what I mean??)

“Not a Drive-By!” “Must See!” Yada, Yada, Yada One of my favorite Mad magazine cartoons (circa 1970) shows a vendor in front of a food stand with the following sign: “turkey burgers,” “chicken burgers,” “buffalo burgers,” “tuna burgers,” “veggie burgers,” etc. etc. The caption: “we have some with ham, too, but we don’t know what...
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1. Minnesota’s 10-Second Weather Report (According to Saturday Night Live)

Getting One Out of Three Right We’re in Minnesota, so here’s the weather forecast: the rest of April: cold; May: cold; June: cold; July: somehow hot as hell. Back to y’all.” –Saturday Night Live; cold open (April 10, 2021). As a Minnesota native and long-time Twin Cities resident, I can attest to the “perpetually cold”...
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